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Bestiary
The skies are full of all manner of strange creature. While there are countless natural philosophers and aspiring zoologists, magic’s presence men's that new varieties and types are discovered on an almost monthly basis. There are two authorities on the fauna found across the skies: the Society of Natural Studies of Dalaam, and the Hunter’s Guild of Crean. The former attempts to catalogue, study and understand, while the latter concerns itself with protecting protecting people, safeguarding settlements and ships, and, of course, hunting. The Bestiary The College of Natural Philosophers makes a point of collecting specimens and accounts of every creature it can. It's agents roam the skies, and they often post jobs whenever rumours surface of something new or interesting. Notable natural philosopher and zoologist Penny Lithu Gorey made a name for herself when she journeyed through each sky, collecting samples and accounts of every creature she could. Her monumental bestiary, Vival Caelum, was the first bestiary to be considered somewhat comprehensive. The College releases a new edition at the begining of every age, spending the preceding storm age compiling and analyzing all received and stored samples, accounts, and statesments of new wildlife. The vast majority of creatures fall into the first two categories: wildlife and incomprehensibles.. Wildlife Critters Mild or passive animals, creatures that live and thrive in the skies, on spires, or flying through the soars. Large or small, these animals pose no immediate threat to people around them. They might be domesticated, but more often than that they are wild—they simply don’t care to interact with civilization. When they do, it is in benign, helpful, or possibly annoying ways, though rarely dangerous. Ribbon Snake Critter; w/5 s/3 i/3; Medium ship-length ribbon-like serpent that nests in forests, most often in HS. They come out in rain and while they shy away from contact, will defend themselves if their nests are threatened. Mantine Critter; w/4+1 s/4+1 i/4+1; Massive manta rays, other critters latch on, carried as it travels, eating scraps. This flying beast eats sunlight it seems, gliding on its back. It has tusks, but no apparent mouth. Oax Critter; w/5 s/3 i/3; Mare Cutter; w/5 s/3 i/3; Boar Beast; w/5 s/3 i/3; Crow Beast; w/5 s/3 i/3; Serpent Beast; w/5 s/3 i/3; birds Beast; w/5 s/3 i/3; Beasts Any animal that has the potential to harm is considered a beast. These can range from somewhat benign animals that, while dangerous, provide a solid food source if they can be hunted, to smaller, seemingly-innocuous animals that have lethal abilities. Rean Hunters are consider to come of age once they have killed their first beast, whatever it may be. Muroden Beast; d6; armed with claws, muscled arms and teeth-packed jaws; Familiar in Acrobatics, Sleight, Trained in Close Combat, Nature, Perception, and Stealth. Murodens are carnivorous, greedy, cowardly, and vicious. They’ve no tails, though shaggy rat-like bodies, large glassy red eyes, ape-like jaws. These creatures have long lifespans, though they spend most of their time in hibernation. Their vision is heat-based, and are confused by fire. Darro Beast; d8; Flying shark Spindlebeast Beast; 5/4/2; Charge - one hit kill; painfully quick (dodge -1), hang out in groups of 3 usually. Fringehead Beast; d8; Gas bladder, attack sails, people, flocks of ~ 12, d4 predator mouths. Skygazers Beast; d12; Cling to rock face, camouflage, lash out with frog-like tongue and chomping teeth. Often mistaken for natural or storm-weathered statues. Asugu Beast; w/5 s/3 i/3; Brasa Beast; w/5 s/3 i/3; Hags Beast; w/5 s/3 i/3; Goblins/Nekkers Beast; w/5 s/3 i/3; Monsters While many animals may harm or hurt those who come across them, monsters are those beings that actively seek out people as prey or perhaps even for sport. Dangerous, devious, and deadly, monsters are a step above beasts based on their inherent violent and destructive nature. Many adventurers across the skies make careers out of hunting down monsters, or else protecting settlements that have fallen prey to such beings. Greater Muroden Monster; d8; armed with claws, muscled arms and teeth-packed jaws; Trained in all applicable skills, Expert in Close Combat. Axebeak Beast; d8; Sargassum Drake Beast; w/5 s/3 i/3; Manticore Beast; w/5 s/3 i/3; Colossi Any creature that can attack and defeat an airship can be safely considered a colossus. These animals are rare, dangerous, and surprisingly enough, rarely outright aggressive. Windfish (sky whales) are the most commonly sighted, drifting down from the heights of HighSky on occasion. Hunters often dream of pursuing and bringing down the largest of this class of creature, simply known as Leviathans, which rarely make appearance to those who aren't diligently tracking them. Churl Colossus; (health as ship); Wispy, semi-translucent tentacles that drift up from cloudfloor, snaggingprey into the thick cloud bank to be torn and devoured by the creature’s beak. Stationary squid creature with 30+ tentacles. Fly high, as they can rip apart ship hulls. Sola Sunbird Colossus; d12; Dragon Beast; w/5 s/3 i/3; in cloudfloor Beast; w/5 s/3 i/3; Incomprehensibles Wildlife is inherently natural and, while at times mutated or altered, relies upon natural law the same as Avorals, Humans, Ursa, and Medua alike. Beings considered Incomprehensible are divorced from natural law in some way, either by the wild magic of the skies, or through unknown method or ability. Spirits Ghosts, spooks, and shades, these lingering wisps of the dead appear wherever violence or pain marks the end of a life. Many of these are tethered to an object or anchored to a specific location, unable to leave and find peace. While spirits don't often interfere with the living, if agitated or provoked, they may lash out, tormented or haunting those who they perceive as foe. Ghost Spirit; -/d4, Stressed by salt, fire; These figments keep a semblance of their mortal shape, though as time progresses, they become indistinct, milky clouds that flicker in and out of sight, only truly becoming visible when they interact with the material world. As a ghost absorbs trauma (deals stress damage or is dealt stress damage), it grows if it is not destroyed, gaining new abilities, at which point it may become a Horror. -Throw: (Ranged Combat D10+2) The ghost levitates and propels an object at an opponent, though rarely fast enough that they can't be avoided. An especially good throw deals damage. -Hide/Reveal: (Stealth D6+6) The ghost may turn itself visible or invisible, though almost always visible to a child's eye. -Conjure: (Perform D8+4) The ghost may create illusions and phantasms that disorient and stress as well as amuse and entertain. These illusions have no substance and appear with a shimmer in the air (gas waver). Traumatic illusions may cause stress damage. -Possess: (Persuasion D8+4) The ghost attempts to posses an individual, taking over their body once their mind breaks. Floaters Spirits; st/4; Spirits c;pinging to LS rocks of those who died in the soars (not fell through) Horrors Some spirits drive themselves to darker, more demented ends, consuming what they can until they become larger, more clever, and above all, hungrier. Sometimes a spectre will emerge from tombs long buried for reasons unknown, mutated and distorted by a hidden past. Sometimes incorporeal beings from other planes slip through the cracks of reality, becoming unhinged and half-unreal. These beings are aggressive and hunger for life. They might stalk, or hunt, or else lay patient traps in derelicts and ruins waiting for someone to stumble upon their nest. But all horrors view those living as prey. Shade Horror; -/d6; Stressed by salt, fire, pure copper and iron; Though they are often found haunting the sites of their demise, shades have the ability to roam and travel, sometimes haunting people or objects. They often remain dormant unless the subject of their haunt is disturbed, feels bloodshed, or is subject to intense emotion, which rouses the spectre from its slumber. Shade-haunted objects are often confused for artifacts. Wraith Horror; -/d8, Stressed by salt; While ghosts retain a semblance of the memories from their lives, the same cannot be said of wraiths, who are consumed by their hate and rage. Their shape and size vary considerably, though most bring an unseasonable cold to the air around them, with powerful wraiths leaving a thin frost in their wake. Harpies Beast; w/5 s/3 i/3; Banshees Beast; w/5 s/3 i/3; Terrors These are the ghastly wraiths, the grim spectres of absolute death. A terror that descends upon a town will often bring the entire settlement to ruin if left unchallenged. Their shapes are different and strange, usually unique, but always horrific, if not in appearance or action, than in utter alien presence. Terrors stand as monstrous testaments to the hungering unknown. Where terrors pass, nightmares and madness follows. Fiends Terror; w/5 s/3 i/3; Siren Beast; w/5 s/3 i/3; Hymns/Demons Beast; w/5 s/3 i/3; Zodiac Zodiac animals are linked to the year of an age. There are generally ten years in an age (shortest age is 7 years, longest is 12 years), with the later 2-4 years being marked by heavy winds and rains to the point of making air travel incredibly perilous, thus known as Storm years. It is rare that Manticore or Dragon years come around, though their storms are always exceptionally rough. 1 Monkey Human 2 Avoral Hawk 3 Ursa Bear 4 Asugu 5 Oax 6 Mare 7 Brasa 8 Boar 9 Crow 10 Serpent 11 Manticore 12 Dragon